Nursing His Broken Heart
by TakerTakeMe
Summary: Shawn Michaels is lost and confused after his divorce. Stephanie McMahon is there to nurse his broken heart... And how does Chris Jericho fit into the picture?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I own no one.**

_**Nursing His Broken Heart**_

Shawn Michaels sat alone in his locker room wondering where everything in his life had gone wrong. When had his life fallen apart? Why hadn't he realized what was happening? Why hadn't he been able to stop it?

His wife had cheated on him.

His wife had divorced him.

His wife had been granted sole custody of the kids.

And what did he have? What did he have to left to hold on to?

"Nothing!" he exclaimed. His voice was loud in the quiet room.

And who did he have to lean on for support? Who did he have left to love him?

"No one," he said sadly. "I have no one." He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.

He was a hopeless case.

There was a timid knock on his closed locker room door.

"Go away!" Shawn yelled, not bothering to ask who it was.

The door opened anyway. He looked up to see who would dare enter his locker room uninvited. When he saw who it was, he gulped and stared.

"Stephanie."

"Shawn."

He hadn't seen her face-to-face in months. They'd been avoiding each other for quite a while, even before his wife had divorced him. They had shared just one innocent kiss about seven months ago, just one. And they hadn't been able to face each other since.

They stared intently at each other, trying to take in each other's appearance.

"What are you doing here?" he asked finally.

"I heard," she said. "But... Well, I just came to see how you're doing."

"How do you _think_ I'm doing?" he asked. "I mean, _look_ at me."

She looked at him. Really looked at him.

"What do you see?" he asked as she examined him. She was silent. "A broken man, right?"

"What I see is the same old Shawn who I've always seen," she said slowly. "It's just... I can tell that you're hurting. And I'd like to help you, if you'll let me."

"How can you help me, huh?" he asked, shaking his head.

"I want to be the one you can confide in," she said, coming to sit next to him. "I want to be the one who has a shoulder for you to lean on."

He looked at her, surprised at how she was giving him the answer to everything he'd been wondering just minutes before. But then he shook his head. He shouldn't... He really shouldn't.

"Um, yeah, that's not gonna work," he said as she put her hand on his arm. "I just can't... I need to... I've got to be independent."

"And depend on yourself to get through the hard times?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, looking away. "Because when I depended on my wife to be there for me, look what happened. She left me."

"And you think I'm going to leave you like she did?" she asked, incredulous.

"I didn't think she would, but she did," he said. "I just don't know." He looked away.

"Shawn. Look at me," she said.

He couldn't.

"Please," she pleaded.

He wouldn't.

"Fine," she said, getting up and heading for the door. "I know when I'm not wanted, and I know when I'm not needed. I'm out of here."

He understood what she was saying, but he couldn't allow her to leave. He couldn't be left twice.

"Stephanie." His voice sounded almost harsh, even to his own ears.

She turned around, tears in her eyes. "What, Shawn?"

"Don't leave me... I need you," he whispered, and his voice broke.

"Aww, don't cry," she said as her own tears spilled over. "You're going to make _me_ cry..."

They were in each other's arms in a flash, giving in to what they'd been feeling for years. They embraced each other, and she just hugged him while silent tears fell from his eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair and he clung to her like he never wanted to let go and wished the moment could last for an eternity...

"Feel better?" she asked. He nodded. They sat on the couch side by side, holding hands. They couldn't let go. They wouldn't let go.

"Yeah," he said. He felt embarrassed, ashamed. "Do you think I'm...less than a man now?"

"Why would I think that?" she asked, touching his face.

"I just cried like a baby," he pointed out. "Real men don't cry."

"Real mean _do_ cry," she told him. "I think it takes a _real_ man to have the courage to cry in front of someone."

Her voice trailed off and they peered silently at eachother, not speaking. She could see the pain in his eyes, pain that was so strong that it made her heart break for him. Then she looked down at his lips. He looked at hers. They stared into each other's eyes again. Then they both slowly leaned forward until their lips met.

A feeling of euphoria had washed over them both completely by the time they ended the kiss. They looked at each other in amazement and wonder. He traced her jaw line with a finger, then leaned in to kiss her again.

But just as their lips met again, her cell phone rang. She broke the kiss with an apologetic smile on her face and answered the phone. It was her father, and he needed to see her immediately in his office. She said ok, then ended the call.

She stood up. "That was my father. He needs to see me in his office right away," she explained. She got up after staring at him, then headed for the door.

He caught her as she was about to open the door and hugged her tight against him. "Thank you," he whispered into her ear.

"For what?" she asked, reveling in the warmth of his slim, trim body.

"For nursing my broken heart," he replied. "For the first time since the divorce was finalized, I feel happy, and it's all because of you."

She smiled. "Anything for you, Shawn. That's what friends are for." Then she headed for her father's office with him watching silently after her...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own no one.**

_**Nursing His Broken Heart**_

**Chapter 2**

Shawn sat in his locker room with a small smile on his face. All of a sudden, it no longer mattered that his wife had divorced him. Of course, it was still hurting. Just not as intensely as it had before his little visit from Stephanie.

_Stephanie_, he thought with a smile. _Stephanie always makes everything better... And I love her for it._

There was a knock on his door. He hoped it was Stephanie.

"Come in!" he called.

The door opened and Triple H walked into the locker room. (**A/N: I will refer to Triple H as Hunter throughout most of the story**).

"How are you, man?" Hunter asked in a voice filled with sympathy.

"I feel _good_," Shawn replied. "Better than I've felt in quite some time."

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "This isn't what I expected, obviously, but I'm glad you're no longer down in the dumps."

"I owe it all to one special little lady," Shawn said, closing his eyes and remembering the kiss he'd shared with Stephanie a few minutes before.

"There's a woman? _Already?_" Hunter asked. He sat down on the couch next to Shawn. "So who is she, you _beast_?"

"She's my little secret," Shawn said shortly. "I'm crazy about her."

"So soon after your divorce? Are you sure you're not just rushing into the first available relationship?" Hunter asked seriously.

"I'm positive. I've been loving this lady for a long time," Shawn answered. "If I close my eyes, I can remember every detail of her appearance... Her beautiful smile, her glowing eyes, her silky hair, her lips..."

Hunter sighed. "That's how I feel about Stephanie. I've loved her for so many years, maybe from the first time I ever laid eyes on her..."

Shawn got tense. He smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Speaking of Stephanie... How is she?"

"Don't you know?" Hunter asked.

"Why would I know?" Shawn asked nervously. "There's no reason that I would know."

"But she told me she was coming to see you," Hunter said, confused.

"Oh." Shawn paused. "She did."

"Then how come you're wondering how she's doing?" Hunter asked. He looked suspiciously at his friend, waiting for his reply.

"Oh," Shawn said again. Pause. "When she came to see me, she only asked how I was doing. I didn't get the chance to ask how she was because her dad called and she had to go..." His voice trailed off as he remembered how he'd been about to kiss her again when Vince had interrupted...

"Steph's doing great," Hunter said. "Lately she's been a little quiet, a bit withdrawn, kind of like she's distanced herself. But most of the time she's her usual beautiful self."

"She was really awesome today," Shawn said in a soft voice.

"She's _always_ awesome," Hunter said in a dreamy voice. He stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "Listen, though, I'm about to head back over to her office and wait for her."

"Ok, buddy. Thanks for dropping by," Shawn said, standing up. "You're a real friend."

"We're _boys_, Shawn. Of course I'm going to be here for you. I love you, man," Hunter said, hugging him. "But totally in a non-gay way."

"I love you, too," Shawn said. "In that totally non-gay way."

Hunter laughed, punched him lightly. "Later, man." He headed for the door.

"Hey, Hunter," Shawn called.

"Yeah?"

_I love your wife..._ "See you around."

"For sure."

And then Shawn was once again all alone.

_What am I thinking? My best friend's wife_, he thought. He closed his eyes and the first thing he saw was Stephanie's smile. The first thing he heard was her voice: _"I want to be the one you confide in. I want to be the one who has a shoulder for you to lean on..."_

And then he remembered something he'd said when she was about to leave: _"Don't leave me... I need you."_

"How true," he said aloud, shaking his head. "How true."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I own no one.**

_**Nursing His Broken Heart**_

**Chapter 3**

Stephanie stepped out of her father's office with surprise written all over her face. She walked a little way down the hall, then leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Her father was a genius, really. She couldn't _believe_ what he had gotten her into now, but she knew that he was a pure genius.

"Stephanieeeee," a male person's voice called in a cheerful singsong voice.

She opened her eyes and smiled at the newcomer. "Hey Chris," she said, hugging him. He was her very best friend, and he knew everything about her. _Everything_.

"Where have you been hiding?" Chris Jericho asked, hugging her back. "Hunter's been looking all over for you."

"Oh my God, I forgot about him," she gasped, pulling away from him. "First I went to see Shawn and then my dad needed to talk to me and-what?"

"Back up a little," he said. "Who'd you go see?"

"Shawn," she repeated, smiling. "And we _did_ talk, finally, but only for a little while."

"What did you do the rest of the time?" he asked curiously. He looked around, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Did you kiss him again?"

"Chris!" she said sharply, looking around. "I told you that in confidence!"

"Princess, relax," he said, putting one hand on her shoulder. "It's been seven months and I haven't told anyone about it."

"Good," she said, taking a shaky breath. "Because it happened again."

"Oh? And you weren't going to tell your very best friend?" he asked, pretending to be hurt. "That stings, Stephy. That just breaks my heart."

"You know, Chrissy, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were gay," she teased.

"If you can recall that night we spent together..." His voice trailed off and he smiled at her, a cocky smile. "Well, I think I proved _multiple_ times that I'm _all_ man."

"Chrisssss," she whined, pouting. "You're _so_ not supposed to ever mention that time, remember? We made a deal."

"My bad," he laughed, holding his hands up. "Now back to Mr. HBK..."

"We kissed," she said simply. "We were just sitting there, like, talking or whatever. I looked into his eyes, he looked into mine...and slowly we-"

"Classic," he interrupted. "Your lips met and meshed together as his tongue gently plundered your mouth. You tangled your fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss. Before you knew it, he was making love to you against the wall and you were moaning, loving every minute of it..." He paused, then smiled a crooked smile. "Oh wait," he said, smacking his forehead and pretending as though he had just remembered something. "That was me."

"Shut up," she groaned, punching him lightly. She couldn't believe that they were actually having this conversation out in the hallway, right down the hall from her father's office. Her dad could walk out, or anyone could walk by... Why was she friends with Chris Jericho anyway? "And if you must know, we didn't have sex. I'm married, remember?"

"Didn't matter when we fell into each other's arms," he reminded her in a husky voice. He took a step towards her, and another one, then stopped when his lips were inches away from hers. He looked like he was going to kiss her, standing so close to her. "Wouldn't matter if we did it again."

"You perv," she said, pushing him away. "You're a sick, sick man, Chris Jericho."

"But you like it," he laughed. "Or, at least, you used to."

"I do," she admitted sheepishly. "But didn't you say Hunter was looking for me?"

"Yes, Princess, Prince Hunter is looking for his Princess, and you're obviously not ready to be with a _king_ like me...again," he said with an exaggerated sigh. "So go."

"Gosh, and here I was thinking that you wanted me again," she teased, starting to walk away. "Oh well. Guess I was wrong... Must've just been wishful thinking..."

"Wait a minute, Stephy!" he exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "What do you mean?"

"I was kidding, Chris," she told him seriously. She grinned at him. "Now give your best girl a hug and a kiss, then let me go find my man."

"And is that man Hunter or Shawn?" he cracked. Seeing the look on her face, he gave her a hug, then kissed her affectionately on the forehead. "See you later, Stephy..."

"Bye, Chris," she said. She kissed him on the cheek, then headed down the hall to her office, where she was almost positive that Hunter would be waiting.

She was right. As soon as she opened the door and entered her office, she spotted Hunter waiting for her. Her husband. He was such a sweet man, really... She closed the door and walked over to him.

"Hey, baby," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I heard you were looking for me."

"Yeah, I was. Did Chris tell you?" Hunter asked, hugging her.

"Yep, Chris told me," she answered. "I told you where I was going."

"I know, but when I went to see Shawn, he wasn't very helpful," he said. "And anyway, I talked to Chris _before_ I went to see Shawn."

"So how was Shawn doing?" she asked nervously, pulling away.

"I thought you knew," he said, looking at her with a weird look on his face.

"We didn't really have much of a chance to talk before Daddy called me into his office, which brings me to my next point," she said. She bit her bottom lip nervously, wondering how her husband was going to take the news. Of course, if he didn't like it then they wouldn't go through with it, but she wanted to. The idea of what she was about to tell him was exciting to her.

"I don't like the look on your face," he said, observing her. "Did something bad happen when you went to see your dad?"

"Not really. You see, he presented me with the latest script, and I'm not so sure how you're going to like it," she began.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Listen. The idea here is a love triangle," she said.

"Between?" he asked curiously.

"Between me, you, and..." Her voice trailed off.

"And who? Chris?" he asked.

"No... Shawn." She looked at him solemnly, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Me, you, and _Shawn_?" he repeated.

"Yeah, because... You know how we were married onscreen and we got divorced? Well, the creative team thinks it would be interesting if I came crawling back to you, and then after you accept me back... I'd kick you to the curb and reveal my true love, Shawn," she said in a rushed voice. She had to stop talking so she could catch her breath.

"Interesting, indeed," he said. "And I suppose they'll make a feud between Shawn and me in which we fight over you?"

"Yeah, basically," she said. She looked at him suspiciously. "Wait, did you hear about this before or is it that predictable?"

"Predictable," he informed her, tracing her arm lightly with his fingertips. "But I think it would be fun. After all..." He touched her cheek softly. "Shawn's my best friend and you're definitely worth fighting for."

"Aw, you're so sweet," she whispered, feeling guilty. "I thought you'd be upset about this storyline."

"Why should I? As long as we can keep the line between reality and work clear, I'm cool with it," he said, tangling his fingers in her hair and leaning closer. His voice lowered to a soft whisper. "Besides, we both know who you'd choose if we were really in that situation..." He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her slowly.

_Do we really know?_ she wondered, then closed her eyes and kissed him back...

**A/N: It took me forever to update this story, I know. I'm really sorry about that, you guys. I don't know where I'm going with this, and I don't know why I decided to put Chris Jericho into this but he's here now, and he and Steph are friends... Just friends...but there was that one night... Anyway, I don't know when the next update will be. Whenever I get a new idea, I guess, but I'm not making any promises. To tell the truth, I planned for this to ber a one shot, but some people asked me to update so now it's not a one shot...**


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